World
Out in the world: LGBTQ news from Europe and Asia
Two teenagers sentenced to life in prison for murdering trans teenager in England
UNITED KINGDOM
On Friday, the judge presiding over the trial of two teenagers convicted in the brutal stabbing death of transgender teenager Brianna Ghey, a crime that shook northern England, sentenced the pair to life in prison.
Manchester Crown Court Justice Amanda Yip sentenced Scarlett Jenkinson to life in prison with a minimum of 22 years and Eddie Ratcliffe to life with a minimum of 20 years, noting that the pair, both 16, took part in a “brutal, planned murder” that was “sadistic in nature” and motivated by “hostility towards Brianna because of her transgender identity.”
Ghey was a 16-year-old trans girl, TikTok creator and a “beacon of positivity,” according to her friends. She would often film videos set to music while showing off her makeup or walking in a park. It was in one of these parks that her life was taken in February of this year.
In the immediate aftermath of her murder, countless people mourned for her and decried the senseless violence. Her TikToks became makeshift memorials with millions of likes and views.
Many people considered the idea that anti-trans sentiment and rampant transphobia in the U.K. may have played a role in her murder.
PinkNewsUK reported that as he read his victim impact statement at Manchester Crown Court, Brianna’s father, Peter Spooner, described Jenkinson and Ratcliffe as “pure evil.”
“Now my world has been torn apart. Justice may have been done but no amount of time in prison will be enough for these monsters,” he said.
“I cannot call them children because that makes them sound naive or vulnerable, which they are not — they are pure evil. Brianna was the vulnerable one.”
British Conservative Party politician Michael Freer announced he has decided to step down at the next general election after an arson attack on his constituency office and receiving death threats.
PinkNewsUK reported that the 63-year-old Tory, who currently also serves as Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Courts and Legal Services, has faced a series of death threats and was even targeted by Ali Harbi Ali, the man who murdered Southend West MP David Amess in 2021.
Freer revealed that he and his staff began wearing stab vests at public events after they learned Ali had watched his Finchley office before stabbing Amess at a constituency surgery. An arson attack in December was the “final straw.”
Speaking to Sky News, Freer said: “There comes a point when the threats to your personal safety become too much. I was very lucky that actually on the day [of Ali’s attempted attack] I was due to be in Finchley, I happened to change my plans and came into Whitehall.
Otherwise, who knows whether I would have been attacked or survived an attack. He said he came to Finchley to attack me.”
There have been other threats the MP said including from a group calling themselves Muslims Against Crusades, “about coming to stab me.”
According to PinkNewsUK Freer joins a number of MPs who have said they will not be standing at the next general election, which is expected later this year.
FRANCE
Prime Minister Gabriel Attal in a speech before the National Assembly, the lower house of France’s Parliament, told legislators that “mindsets are evolving” on LGBTQ issues in the country.
In his first keynote address Attal said that France was “tearing itself apart just 10 years ago over same-sex marriage,” he added, whereas “being French in 2024 means … being able to be prime minister and openly gay.” This was “proof our country is moving and mindsets are evolving,” the prime minister noted.
It was the first time the 34-year-old prime minister has referenced his sexual orientation so directly since his installation earlier this month, which was hailed by LGBTQ groups as “a powerful symbol,” Agence France-Presse reported.
But Attal’s sexual orientation has caused barely a ripple in wider French public debate that has more often seen him attacked as a carbon copy of his polarizing boss, French President Emmanuel Macron.
SPAIN
Mario Alcalde made history in the country’s bullfighting sport last month, but not as a matador. The 31-year-old native of Madrid’s Alameda de Osuna neighborhood, where he grew up, revealed in an interview with El Mundo that he identifies as pansexual.
“I’m pansexual. I identify strongly with the LGBTI+ flag. Every person has their taste. I fall in love with the person inside, not their gender,” he said adding, “I follow my own rhythm. My tastes, both political and sexual, are not normal in the bullfighting world.”
Alcalde declined to discuss the politics of being queer further, instead noting his decision to be open about his sexuality and being the first out LGBTQ matador in a sport known for its toxic masculinity occurred after being treated for a dislocated shoulder and broken clavicle after an accident in Madrid’s Las Ventas bullring.
He explained that after a doctor saw he was “wrapped in a rainbow flag dedicated to the Mario Alcalde LGBTQ+ Bullfighting Club” he decided to come out.
Despite confessing that he felt “everyone in the LGBTQ+ community is anti-bullfighting,” the pansexual matador is making it his life’s goal to start a bullfighting club in Madrid’s LGBTQ neighborhood, Chueca.
“Once you confess who you are and the person gets to know you, it’s nice because they begin to see it in a different light,” he said.
“I have to do things so that the community gets involved. They’ll come to watch me fight. At first, they’re very closed minded, there’s too much ignorance and they don’t know what bullfighting is all about.”
He hopes that coming out will not bring negative attention but claims “I don’t care what anyone else thinks.”
In addition to his endeavors in the ring as a matador, he also earns a living as a baggage handler at Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport. “I don’t depend on anyone, that’s why I also work in the airport,” he said.
A painting commissioned by Semana Santa Hermandades, a group of Catholic lay people who organize and perform public religious acts during Seville’s annual Holy Week observances, has drawn severe critique from Spanish conservatives.
The painting, unveiled at the end of January by renowned artist Salustiano García who told the media in attendance at the ceremony that his version of a resurrected Jesus painted against a flat red background was modeled after his son, Horacio.
Spanish social media users derided the work creating memes poking fun at the image or defended the artist, while political conservatives including Pablo Herfelder García-Conde of the ultraconservative Catholic organization Instituto de Política Social labeled the image an “aberration” and a “sexualized and effeminate” Jesus.
Javier Navarro of Spain’s far-right Vox party described the image as a provocation and “homosexual.”
In response to the criticism, the painter told the Spanish newspaper ABC that his portrayal of Jesus was “gentle, elegant and beautiful” and created with “deep respect.”
“To see sexuality in my image of Christ, you must be sick,” he said, insisting there was “nothing” in his painting that “has not already been represented in artworks dating back hundreds of years.”
PORTUGAL
In a statement released on his official website at the end of January, Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa announced that he had vetoed the law that established the measures that schools had to apply to guarantee the right to self-determination of gender identity for students in schools.
De Sousa, a right-leaning conservative, said that he rejected the choice of a neutral name “because it considers that the decree does not guarantee a balance with respect to the essential principle of personal freedom.” He added that law which required schools to adopt to apply the law that establishes gender self-determination “do not sufficiently respect the role of parents, guardians, legal representatives and associations formed by them, nor does it clarify the different situations based on age.
The president returned the law to the Portuguese Parliament to “consider introducing more realism” in an issue in which there is little value in affirming principles that clash, due to their abstract values, with people, families and schools.”
FINLAND
The 65-year-old former Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto is now in a tight three-way run off race seeking to become the country’s next president. Haavisto, who is openly gay, has been running as an independent against former Prime Minister Alexander Stubb and Parliamentary Speaker Jussi Halla-aho.
The primary contest, according to Euronews, is between Stubb, who likely gained 27.3 percent of the initial voting and Haavisto at 25.8 percent, in the runoff elections on Feb. 11. Finnish public broadcaster YLE reported Stubb, 55, and Haavisto were the main contenders in the election. About 4.5 million eligible voters picked a successor out of nine candidates to hugely popular President Sauli Niinistö, whose second six-year term expires in March. He wasn’t eligible for re-election. The initial voter turnout was calculated to be 74.9 percent.
The Guardian UK reported that as a part of his campaigning across Finland, Haavisto has previously warned that country must crack down on hate speech against minorities — both as a pressing social issue and a national security issue — he said in other ways he has seen signs of progress during his time on the campaign trail.
“You could see that people could never imagine that gay men could be elected. But this has been changing.”
This is a critical time for the Nordic nation. Finland’s president holds executive power in formulating foreign and security policy. Euronews noted that abandoning decades of military nonalignment in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Finland became NATO’s 31st member in April, much to the annoyance of President Vladimir Putin of Russia, which shares a 832 mile border with the country.
NATO membership, which has made Finland the Western military alliance’s front-line country toward Russia, and the war raging in Ukraine a mere 621 miles away from Finland’s border have boosted the president’s status as a security policy leader.
As foreign minister, Haavisto signed Finland’s historic accession treaty to NATO last year and played a key role in the membership process along with Niinistö and former Prime Minister Sanna Marin.
RUSSIA
The Sormovskiy District Court in Nizhny Novgorod, a city on the Volga River that is 265 miles east of the Russian capital city, sentenced a woman to five days in jail for wearing earrings in the shape of a frog with a rainbow. This was one of the first two convictions since Russia’s draconian anti-LGBTQ ruling by the country’s Supreme Court
Anastasia Yershova was found guilty by a judge of publicly displaying symbols of an “LGBTQ extremist” organization prohibited under a ruling by Russia’s Supreme Court this past November that “the international LGBTQ movement” is “extremist,” and any symbols including Pride flags would be considered illegal. Yershova’s attorney noted to Shkulev Media that the judge didn’t define “symbol” in handing down his sentence.
According to multiple Russian media outlets, the case against Yershova was brought after an unidentified man threatened to turn her and a companion into the police for wearing a Ukrainian flag pin and rainbow earrings in a public cafe. After she refused the man filmed the encounter and then uploaded the video on Russian social media where it went viral.
Russian security police tasked with combating “extremism” arrested Yershova and brought charges. The press office for the Sormovsky District Court confirmed the account in the charging documents and the sentence but refused further comment.
The Krasnooktyabrsky District Court in Volgograd earlier last week found a man identified only as Artyom P. guilty of “exposing the symbols of an extremist organization” after he had shared a photo of the rainbow flag online in a social media post.
The court’s press office said that the man had pleaded guilty and said he had made a “stupid” gesture. The court stated that he was sentenced to pay a fine of 1,000 rubles ($11.04.)
MALAYSIA
Malaysia’s Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil told reporters during a press conference this past week that a scheduled concert by British singer-songwriter and musician Ed Sheeran would go on as planned at Kuala Lumpur’s Bukit Jalil National Stadium on Feb. 24.
A senior Muslim cleric and leader in the Malay Archipelago had publicly rebuked the government for issuing permits to Sheeran over the latter’s allyship for the LGBTQ community globally.
“As ‘mufti,’ it is my responsibility to urge the Malaysian government, through the relevant ministries (Communication Ministry and Digital Ministry) to revoke the permit for the concert immediately,” the South China Morning Post reported Wan Salim Mohd Noor said to Sinar Harian, a Malay-language daily newspaper.
Salim said Malaysia, as a nation with a predominantly Muslim population, should not allow concerts featuring artists who support “sinful” activities. He also urged all Muslims in the country to boycott the concert.
The minister told reporters the Islamic Development Malaysia Department and the Home Ministry are involved in discussions to grant approvals for concert permits by foreign acts.
“I have spoken about this to the Central Agency for Application for Filming and Performance by Foreign Artists (Puspal) and I take note of the suggestion by the mufti [Noor] on this,” Fadzil said.
“However, Jakim and the Home Ministry are among the 16 agencies involved in the discussions to approve applications for gigs by foreign artists, through the Puspal committee. Therefore, thorough vetting would have been done by all these agencies,” he said at a press conference on Wednesday.
“We take note of the views but we have a process. We will look into the matter if there is a need. At this time, there are no changes in the approval for the concert.”
Additional reporting by PinkNewsUK, Agence France-Presse, El Mundo/The Olive Press, Rádio e Televisão de Portugal, Euronews, The Guardian UK, Fontanka, the BBC and the South China Morning Post.
Latin America
Protests, demands for rights define Pride month in Latin America
More than 3 million people participated in São Paulo march
Activists across Latin America marked Pride month with massive demonstrations, cultural activities, and demands that their countries guarantee equality and protect LGBTQ people from violence.
From Santiago, Chile, to Mexico City, activists took to the streets to celebrate the rights that have been won and the many that are still pending.
Chile
The Pride march that the Movement for Homosexual Integration and Liberation (Movilh) and Fundación Iguales organized took place in downtown Santiago, the country’s capital, on June 22. Authorities and the two organizations say more than 120,000 people participated.
Under the slogan “Pride with memory and hope,” marchers demanded lawmakers approve a bill that would allow reparations for LGBTQ Chileans who Gen. Augusto Pinochet’s dictatorship targeted. There were also calls for the government to promote an LGBTQ-inclusive educational reform.
“This time we are marching on high alert,” said Movilh spokesperson Javiera Zúñiga. “For the first time in decades, we are losing achieved rights. We demand the state wake up. The reform of the Zamudio Law has been stalled for 13 years.”
Marches also took place in Valparaíso, Antofagasta, Temuco, and Concepción, highlighting the growing visibility of transgender groups and feminist organizations.
Mexico
Mexico City on June 29 was the epicenter of one of the region’s largest Pride marches.
More than 300,000 people participated in the march. Comité IncluyeT organized the 46th annual march under the slogan “Not one step back: rights are respected.”
Several organizations denounced the increase in hate crimes — Mexico’s National Observatory of Hate Crimes notes more than 80 LGBTQ people have been reported murdered in the last year. They also urged Mexican lawmakers to criminalize transfeminicides across the country.
Argentina
Although Buenos Aires’s official Pride march takes place in November, the Argentine LGBT+ Federation and other groups in the Argentine capital and in other cities across the country in June organized activities.
More than 5,000 people on June 24 marched from Plaza de Mayo to the Argentine Congress to reject the government’s dismantling of public policies. President Javier Milei’s decision to eliminate the country’s Women, Gender, and Diversity Ministry and cut sexual health programs were among the moves the protesters denounced.
“Today Pride is also resistance to the adjustment,” pointed out Comunidad Homosexual Argentina, an LGBTQ advocacy group.
Colombia
Thousands of people in Bogotá, the Colombian capital, and the cities of Medellín, Cali, and Barranquilla marched on June 29.
The marchers’ slogan was “diversity is also peace,” in a context where violence against LGBTQ people remains high. Caribe Afirmativo, a Colombian LGBTQ rights group, notes more than 45 people from the community has been reported killed in the country over the last 12 months, with most of them trans women.
Organizations also demanded lawmakers resume debate of a bill that would extend comprehensive protections to LGBTQ Colombians. The measure has been stalled in Congress since 2023.
Brazil
More than 3 million people participated in the 28th São Paulo LGBTQ+ Pride Parade that took place on the city’s Paulista Avenue on June 22.
The parade took place under the slogan “LGBT+ social policies: we want the whole thing, not half of it.” Organizers demanded expanded access to health care, employment, and education for the most vulnerable communities, especially Black trans people. They also denounced ultraconservative figures who seek to curtail LGBTQ rights.
Peru and Paraguay
More than 15,000 people took part in a Pride march in Lima, the Peruvian capital, on June 28. Participants demanded lawmakers approve a trans rights law, which has been stalled in the Peruvian Congress since 2016, and recognition of civil unions.
Members of SomosGay, a Paraguayan LGBTQ rights group, and other organizations participated in a Pride march that took place in Asunción, the country’s capital, on June 29.
The march took place without incident, despite threats and anti-LGBTQ hate speech on social media. Participants demanded an end to anti-LGBTQ discrimination and rhetoric from social and religious groups.
Central America
Upwards of 2,000 people participated in a Pride march in Tegucigalpa, the Honduran capital, on June 22. A Pride demonstration took place in San Salvador, the capital of neighboring El Salvador, on June 28.
India
Anaya Bangar challenges ban on trans women in female cricket teams
Former Indian cricketer Sanjay Bangar’s daughter has received support
Anaya Bangar, the daughter of former Indian cricketer Sanjay Bangar, has partnered with the Manchester Metropolitan University Institute of Sport in the U.K. to assess her physiological profile following her gender-affirming surgery and undergoing hormone replacement therapy.
From January to March 2025, the 23-year-old underwent an eight-week research project that measured her glucose levels, oxygen uptake, muscle mass, strength, and endurance after extensive training.
The results, shared via Instagram, revealed her metrics align with those of cisgender female athletes, positioning her as eligible for women’s cricket under current scientific standards. Bangar’s findings challenge the International Cricket Council’s 2023 ban on transgender athletes in women’s cricket, prompting her to call for a science-based dialogue with the Board of Control for Cricket in India and the ICC to reform policies for transgender inclusion.
“I am talking with scientific evidence in my hand,” Bangar said in an interview posted to her Instagram page. “So, I hope, this makes an impact and I will be hoping to BCCI and ICC talking with me and discussing this further.”
On Nov. 21, 2023, the ICC enacted a controversial policy barring trans women from international women’s cricket. Finalized after a board meeting in Ahmedabad, India, the regulation prohibits any trans player who has experienced male puberty from competing, irrespective of gender-affirming surgery or hormone therapy. Developed through a 9-month consultation led by the ICC’s Medical Advisory Committee, the rule aims to safeguard the “integrity, safety, and fairness” of women’s cricket but has drawn criticism for excluding athletes like Canada’s Danielle McGahey, the first trans woman to play internationally. The policy, which allows domestic boards to set their own rules, is slated for review by November 2025.
Bangar shared a document on social media verifying her participation in a physiological study at the Manchester Metropolitan University Institute of Sport, conducted from Jan. 20 to March 3, 2025, focused on cricket performance. The report confirmed that her vital metrics — including haemoglobin, blood glucose, peak power, and mean power — aligned with those of cisgender female athletes. Initially, her fasting blood glucose measured 6.1 mmol/L, slightly above the typical non-diabetic range of 4.0–5.9 mmol/L, but subsequent tests showed it normalized, reinforcing the study’s findings that her physical profile meets female athletic standards.
“I am submitting this to the BCCI and ICC, with full transparency and hope,” said Bangar. “My only intention is to start a conversation based on facts not fear. To build space, not divide it.”
In a letter to the BCCI and the ICC, Bangar emphasized her test results from the Manchester Metropolitan University study. She explained that the research aimed to assess how hormone therapy had influenced her strength, stamina, haemoglobin, glucose levels, and overall performance, benchmarked directly against cisgender female athletic standards.
Bangar’s letter to the BCCI and the ICC clarified the Manchester study was not intended as a political statement but as a catalyst for a science-driven dialogue on fairness and inclusion in cricket. She emphasized the importance of prioritizing empirical data over assumptions to shape equitable policies for trans athletes in the sport.
Bangar urged the BCCI, the world’s most influential cricket authority, to initiate a formal dialogue on trans women’s inclusion in women’s cricket, rooted in medical science, performance metrics, and ethical fairness. She called for the exploration of eligibility pathways based on sport-specific criteria, such as haemoglobin thresholds, testosterone suppression timelines, and standardized performance testing. Additionally, she advocated for collaboration with experts, athletes, and legal advisors to develop policies that balance inclusivity with competitive integrity.
“I am releasing my report and story publicly not for sympathy, but for truth. Because inclusion does not mean ignoring fairness, it means measuring it, transparently and responsibly,” said Bangar in a letter to the BCCI. “I would deeply appreciate the opportunity to meet with you or a representative of the BCCI or ICC to present my findings, discuss possible policy pathways, and work towards a future where every athlete is evaluated based on real data, not outdated perceptions.”
Before her transition, Bangar competed for Islam Gymkhana in Mumbai and Hinckley Cricket Club in the U.K., showcasing her talent in domestic cricket circuits. Her father, Sanjay Bangar, was a dependable all-rounder for the Indian national cricket team from 2001 to 2004, playing 12 test matches and 15 One Day Internationals. He later served as a batting coach for the Indian team from 2014 to 2019, contributing to its strategic development.
Cricket in India is a cultural phenomenon, commanding a fanbase of more than 1 billion, with more than 80 percent of global cricket viewership originating from the country.
The International Cricket Council, the sport’s governing body, oversees 12 full member nations and more than 90 associate members, with the U.S. recently gaining associate member status in 2019 and co-hosting the 2024 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. The BCCI generated approximately $2.25 billion in revenue in the 2023–24 financial year, primarily from the Indian Premier League, bilateral series, and ICC revenue sharing. The ICC earns over $3 billion from media rights in India alone for the 2024–27 cycle, contributing nearly 90 percent of its global media rights revenue, with the BCCI receiving 38.5 percent of the ICC’s annual earnings, approximately $231 million per year.
Women’s cricket in India enjoys a growing fanbase, with over 300 million viewers for the Women’s Premier League in 2024, making it a significant driver of the sport’s global popularity. The International Cricket Council oversees women’s cricket in 12 full member nations and over 90 associate members, with the U.S. fielding a women’s team since gaining associate status in 2019 and competing in ICC events like the 2024 Women’s T20 World Cup qualifiers. The BCCI invests heavily in women’s cricket, allocating approximately $60 million annually to the WPL and domestic programs in 2024–25, while contributing to the ICC’s $20 million budget for women’s cricket development globally. India’s media market for women’s cricket, including WPL broadcasting rights, generated $120 million in 2024, accounting for over 50 percent of the ICC’s women’s cricket media revenue.
“As a woman, I feel when someone says that they are women, then they are, be trans or cis. A trans woman is definitely the same as a cis woman emotionally and in vitals, and specially, when someone is on hormone replacement therapy. Stopping Anaya Bangar from playing is discrimination and violation of her rights. It is really sad and painful that every transwoman need to fight and prove their identity everywhere,” said Indrani Chakraborty, an LGBTQ rights activist and a mother of a trans woman. “If ICC and BCCI is stopping her from playing for being transgender, then I will say this to be their lack of awareness and of course the social mindsets which deny acceptance.”
Chakraborty told the Blade that Bangar is an asset, no matter what. She said that the women’s cricket team will only benefit by participation, but the discriminating policies are the hindrance.
“Actually the transgender community face such discrimination in every sphere. In spite of being potent, they face rejection. This is highly inhuman. These attitudes is regressive and will never let to prosper. Are we really in 2025?,” said Chakraborty. “We, our mindset and the society are the issues. We, as a whole, need to get aware and have to come together for getting justice for Anaya. If today, we remain silent, the entire community will be oppressed. Proper knowledge of gender issues need to be understood.”
The BCCI and the International Cricket Council have not responded to the Blade’s repeated requests for comment.
El Salvador
La marcha LGBTQ desafía el silencio en El Salvador
Se realizó el evento en San Salvador bajo la lluvia, pero con orgullo
SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador — El reloj marcaba el mediodía cuando los primeros colores del arcoíris comenzaron a ondear frente a la emblemática Plaza del Divino Salvador del Mundo. A pesar de la incertidumbre generada en redes sociales, donde abundaban los rumores sobre una posible cancelación de la marcha por la diversidad sexual, la ciudad capital comenzaba a llenarse de esperanza, de resistencia y de orgullo.
Este año, la Marcha del Orgullo LGBTQ+ en El Salvador se desarrolló en un contexto tenso, en medio de un clima político que reprime y silencia a las voces disidentes.
“Aunque las estadísticas digan que no existimos, viviendo en El Salvador, un país donde hoy, después de décadas de avances, defender los derechos humanos es de nuevo una causa perseguida, criminalizada y silenciada”, afirmaron representantes de la Federación Salvadoreña LGBTQ+.
A pesar de la cancelación del festival cultural que usualmente acompaña la marcha, los colectivos decidieron seguir adelante con la movilización, priorizando el sentido original de la actividad: salir a las calles para visibilizarse, exigir respeto a sus derechos y recordar a quienes ya no están.
A la 1:30 p.m., una fuerte lluvia comenzó a caer sobre la ciudad. Algunas de las personas presentes corrieron a refugiarse, mientras otras, debajo de sombrillas y de los escasos árboles en la plaza, decidieron mantenerse firmes. Los comentarios pesimistas no se hicieron esperar: “a lo mejor la cancelan por el clima”, “no se ve tanta gente como otros años”. Sin embargo, lo que siguió fue una muestra de resistencia: a las 2:05 p.m. las voces comenzaron a llamar a tomar las calles.
Visibilidad como resistencia
La marcha arrancó bajo una llovizna persistente. La Avenida Roosevelt y la Alameda Juan Pablo II se tiñeron de colores con banderas arcoíris, trans, lésbicas, bisexuales y otras que representan a los diversos sectores de la población LGBTQ. Cada bandera alzada fue un acto político, cada paso una declaración de existencia.
Desde la Plaza del Divino Salvador del Mundo hasta la Plaza Gerardo Barrios, frente a Catedral Metropolitana y el Palacio Nacional, la marcha se convirtió en un carnaval de dignidad. Carteles con frases como “El amor no se reprime”, “Mi existencia no es delito” o “Marcho por quien ya no puede hacerlo” se alzaron entre las multitudes.
La movilización fue también un espacio para recordar a quienes han perdido la vida por la discriminación y el rechazo. Familias que marcharon por hijos, hijas o amigues que se suicidaron a causa del estigma. Personas que caminaron por quienes aún viven en el miedo, por quienes no pudieron salir del clóset, por quienes se han ido del país huyendo de la violencia.
Arte, fe y rebeldía
Una de las escenas más llamativas fue protagonizada por Nelson Valle, un joven gay que marchó vestido como sacerdote.
“Hay muchas personas que secretamente asisten a ritos religiosos como en Semana Santa, y les gusta vivir en lo oculto. Pero la fe debe ser algo libre porque Dios es amor y es para todos”, dijo.
Valle utilizó su vestimenta como una forma de protesta contra las estructuras religiosas que aún condenan la diversidad sexual.
“Un ejemplo de persona que abrió el diálogo del respeto fue el papa Francisco, abrió la mente y muy adelantado a su tiempo, porque dejó claro que hay que escuchar a toda persona que quiere encontrar a Dios”, agregó.
La marcha también incluyó bandas musicales, grupos de cachiporristas, carrozas artísticas, colectivos provenientes de distintos puntos del país, y manifestaciones de orgullo en todas sus formas. Fue un mosaico cultural que mostró la riqueza y diversidad de la población LGBTQ en El Salvador.
Una lucha que persiste
Las organizaciones presentes coincidieron en su mensaje: la lucha por la igualdad y el reconocimiento no se detiene, a pesar de los intentos del Estado por invisibilizarlos.
“Nuestros cuerpos se niegan a ser borrados y a morir en la invisibilidad de registros que no guardan nuestros nombres ni nuestros géneros”, declararon representantes de la Federación.
Además, agregaron: “Desde este país que nos quiere callar, levantamos nuestras voces: ¡La comunidad LGBTIQ+ no se borra! ¡El Salvador también es nuestro! Construyamos, entre todes, un país donde podamos vivir con Orgullo.”
El ambiente fue de respeto, pero también de desconfianza. La presencia de agentes policiales no pasó desapercibida. Aunque no hubo reportes oficiales de violencia, varias personas expresaron su temor por posibles represalias.
“Marchar hoy es también un acto de valentía”, comentó Alejandra, una joven lesbiana que viajó desde Santa Ana para participar. “Pero tenemos derecho a vivir, a amar, a soñar. Y si nos detenemos, les damos la razón a quienes nos quieren ver en silencio.”
Rumbo al futuro
Concluida la marcha frente a Catedral y el Palacio Nacional, muchas personas permanecieron en la plaza compartiendo abrazos, fotos y palabras de aliento. No hubo festival, no hubo escenario, pero hubo algo más valioso: una comunidad que sigue viva, que sigue resistiendo.
Los retos son muchos: falta de leyes de protección y que apoye las identidades de las personas trans, discriminación laboral, violencia por prejuicio, rechazo familiar, y una narrativa estatal que pretende que no existen. Pero la marcha del 28 de junio demostró que, aunque el camino sea cuesta arriba, la dignidad y el orgullo no se borran.
La lucha por un El Salvador más justo, más plural y más inclusivo continúa. En palabras de uno de los carteles más llamativos de ese día: “No estamos aquí para pedir permiso, estamos aquí para recordar que también somos parte de este país”.
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